The City of
Greater Geelong has joined health promotion foundation VicHealth and more than
40 organisations across the state as part of a new $2 million initiative to
empower young people to say no to vaping.
Delivered by VicHealth,
Vape-Free Victoria will see 29 local councils, five universities, five sporting
bodies and teams, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Quit Victoria and the
Victorian Government work together to support young people to understand the
harms of vaping.
The City has received a $200,000 VicHealth Vaping Prevention Grant, which will
see it lead the Barwon South West Vaping Prevention Coalition.
The coalition is a partnership with the Barwon South West Public Health Unit,
as well as local councils, health services and community organisations in the
Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Surf Coast, Corangamite, Warrnambool and Glenelg
local government areas.
Activities
implemented as part of the project will be co-designed with community members
aged between 12 and 25, with an aim to increase young people’s awareness of the
harms of vaping and their capability to reject vaping.
The initiatives put in place will use best practice evidence and will be designed to achieve sustained and embedded change.
If you or someone you know needs support to stop vaping, contact Quit via phone, SMS, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger. For more details, visit quit.org.au.
Member for
Geelong, Christine Couzens MP
Vaping is a serious health issue,
particularly with young people.
Having members
of the community aged between 12 and 25 engaged in the program design greatly
increases the chances that their peers will listen to the message about vaping
harm.
Greater Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan
The City’s Youth Council had played a key role in opening dialogue on the topic of vaping across the region.
We
are grateful to the Victorian Government for its funding of this vital
program.
Our
Youth Council has told us that vaping is a growing concern for young people in
the community and it is an issue that we acknowledge needs to be addressed.”
Greater Geelong Junior Mayor
Hteemoo Yohellaymusaw
The initiative is welcome news for the youth of
Geelong.
Youth Council members outlined our
concerns regarding increasing vape use among young people and the alarming
health risk it poses for young people and the wider community when presenting
our second report to the Council in June.
It is pleasing to see that steps
are being taken to address these concerns and we hope it will promote positive
change within our community.
Barwon South West Public Health Unit Acting Director, Dr Akhtar Hussain
I am excited about the initiative and the importance of having young people involved
as part of the development of the education and support resources.
This initiative is a great example of how stakeholders from across the Barwon
South West can work together to improve the health and wellbeing of our
community.
We’ve seen a dramatic increase in vaping over the past few years, especially
among young people.
It is really important to have young people from across our region work
together to co-design the development of a program of action to support people
aged 14-25 to understand the impact of vaping on their health and wellbeing.
About VicHealth
A world-first health promotion foundation, VicHealth focuses on promoting good
health and preventing chronic disease. VicHealth strives to create a healthier,
more vibrant Victoria.